Chelsea defender David Luiz has come under fire after appearing to exaggerate a foul on him which led to Manchester United right-back Rafael being sent off.

Chelsea player David Luiz is seen to be laughing as he lies on the ground

Photo: YouTube

The Sunday's game at Old Trafford had been anything but entertaining up until the last five minutes, when a goal and a red card livened up proceedings.

Juan Mata finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 87th minute but the real talking point will be the sending off.

Luiz and Rafael were both chasing a ball down into the corner, and having just conceded, the latter was a little bit frustrated and took it out on his Brazilian counterpart near the corner flag.

Lineswoman Sian Massey signaled for a foul, and referee Howard Webb sent off Rafael for what looked like a pretty clear red card.

However, when Luiz went down, he curled up in the fetal position and TV cameras caught the Blues star smiling as he rolled around on the turf.

The smile sparked outrage in some corners of the Internet as the likeable Sideshow Bob look-a-like pulled a move made famous by Sergio Busquets.

"Rafael retaliates but Luiz rolls about like a dying swan and that convinces the referee," United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said after the game.

"It was quite clear Luiz has elbowed him twice. It was rash what Rafael did. He is a young lad, he should know better, but retaliation never works.

"I wouldn't say it was violent conduct. The referee hasn't even seen it at all. The ref has been bought by the fact Luiz is rolling about. But whether the ref will doing anything about it, I doubt it very much."

He added: "Luiz was smiling, it's bad. What kind of professional is that?"